New Fleming Biopic In Pipeline?

The British film magazine ‘Empire’ this week has resurrected the news first announced in May, 2008, that a new biopic on the life of Ian Fleming is being prepared.

The film will be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘Appian Way’ production company and screenwriter John Orloff has been recruited to put the story together. There is no news on who will actually play the Bond author, although inevitably there will be speculation that DiCaprio himself might be eyeing up the role, especially as he played Howard Hughes in the past and seems very interested in further ‘historical’ roles.

Ian Fleming has so far been officially played three times on screen. Charles Dance (who had a small role in 1981’s EON Bond movie For Your Eyes Only) played the Bond author in Anglia TV’s ‘Goldeneye’ (1989), Jason Connery (son of Sir Sean) played Fleming in ‘Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming’ (1990), and, more recently, Ben Daniels took the part in the TV docu-drama ‘Ian Fleming: Bondmaker’ (2005).

Ian Fleming (1908-1964) and his career, of course, is still seen as a potential rich source for new screenplays, and many new facts about Fleming’s life emerged during the 2008 Centenary Year, including revelations about his various wartime activities.